Go outside and watch gray squirrels prepare for winter.

What you need:

• 25 unshelled peanuts

 

What you do:

Watch squirrels

1. What’s for lunch? Watch the squirrels around your neighborhood as they gather food. Ask your child what the squirrels eat. Acorns, of course, but what else? (Nuts, seeds, buds, berries, etc.) Which foods do the squirrels eat right away? What foods do they hide for later? Where do they hide them?
2. Where is home? Many squirrels live high in the trees. Look at treetops for nests that are about two feet in diameter, perched on a branch or in the fork of a tree. Ask your child what the nest is made of (mostly leaves, twigs, moss). Then look around the neighborhood for other places squirrels might call home. Many squirrels build nests in tree holes when the weather turns cold. Some squirrels build nests in gutters or the attics of houses.
3. The tail’s tale. A squirrel’s tail is a multi-purpose tool. Look for squirrels using their tails in these different ways: as an umbrella in the rain, as a blanket in the cold, or as a parachute when a squirrel falls. Squirrels also flick their tails to talk to other squirrels. Ask your child to guess what the squirrel is trying to say when it flicks its tail.

 

Pretend to be a squirrel

Squirrels don’t hide their food in one place. They “squirrel away” food for future meals in many different hiding places. Help your child find out why by pretending to be a squirrel.

1. Hide nuts. Ask your child to hide 25 peanuts in your yard. Suggest burying some in dirt, placing others under leaves, and stowing some in tree holes. How many different places can your child find to hide the peanuts?
2. Hunt for food. One week later, see how many of the hidden peanuts your child can find. What does your child think happened to the rest? Could some of them been eaten by other animals? Is it possible some are still in hiding places your child forgot? Both of these problems happen to squirrels.